The Bacteria Book: The Big World of Really Tiny Microbes

74 Pages·2018·21.42 MB·English

by  Steve Mould

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Written by
Steve Mould
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Contents
Introduction In your body
4 22
6 What is a microbe? 24 The bad guys
Meet the microbes Your body’s defenses
8 26
10 Seeing is believing 28 The story of antibiotics
12 All about cells 30 Bacteria with superpowers
14 What are bacteria? 32 Bacteria put to work
16 Growing and dividing 34 What is a virus?
18 Where in the world? 36 Catching a cold
20 Can a squid glow? 38 Fighting a virus
Additional editorial Olivia Stanford,
Sam Priddy, Amina Youssef
Illustration Mark Clifton, Molly Lattin,
Bettina Myklebust Stovne
Jacket designer Joanne Clark
Managing editor Laura Gilbert
Written by Steve Mould Managing art editor Diane Peyton Jones
Consultant Edward Marks, PhD Pre-production producer Rob Dunn
Senior producer Isabell Schart
Editor Allison Singer Art director Martin Wilson
Senior designer Joanne Clark Creative director Helen Senior
Design assistant Ala Uddin Publishing director Sarah Larter
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40 Deadly tricks 58 What are protozoa?
42 Plant viruses 60 What are archaea?
44 What are fungi? 62 Micro animals
46 Mega mold 64 Timeline of microbiology
48 Growing and spreading 68 Glossary
There are some tricky
words in this book! Do your
50 Micro chefs
best to sound them out, then
turn to the glossary to see
if you got them right.
52 Zombie ants! 70 Index
54 What are algae? 72 Acknowledgments
56 Growing green
Additional editorial Olivia Stanford, First American Edition, 2018 DK books are available at special discounts when
Published in the United States by DK Publishing purchased in bulk for sales promotions, premiums, fund-raising,
Sam Priddy, Amina Youssef
345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014 or educational use. For details, contact: DK Publishing Special
Illustration Mark Clifton, Molly Lattin, Markets, 345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014
Bettina Myklebust Stovne Copyright © 2018 Dorling Kindersley Limited [email protected]
DK, a Division of Penguin Random House LLC
Jacket designer Joanne Clark 18 19 20 21 22 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 A catalog record for this book
Managing editor Laura Gilbert 001–306395–Feb/2018 is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN: 978-1-4654-7028-7
Managing art editor Diane Peyton Jones
All rights reserved.
Pre-production producer Rob Dunn Without limiting the rights under the copyright reserved above, no part Printed and bound in China
Senior producer Isabell Schart of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, A WORLD OF IDEAS:
Art director Martin Wilson
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior
SEE ALL THERE IS TO KNOW
Creative director Helen Senior written permission of the copyright owner.
Published in Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited
Publishing director Sarah Larter
www.dk.com
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4
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Introduction
Looking into a microscope is like peering into
an alien world, one full of peculiar, pulsating
creatures that act and move in strange ways.
These mysterious microbes are absolutely
everywhere—around you, on you, and inside
you. We live in harmony with some of them,
and we’re at war with the rest.
Some of the creatures you’ll find in this
book are gross and terrifying, while others
are simply amazing. Get ready to discover the
bacteria that makes you fart, the mite that lives
in your eyelashes, and the fungus that turns
ants into zombies.
The world of the very small is endlessly
fascinating, and I’ve packed these pages
full of my favorite bits. Enjoy!
Steve Mould
5
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Wmhaitc isr ao be? B A C T E R I A ARE 10 TO 100 OF TIMES LONGE
R
T
There could HA
N
VI
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U
S
be as many as E
S.
A microorganism, or “microbe,”
one trillion

is any living creature that is so
species of microbe
small you can’t see it with your
eyes. The most common microbe on Earth.
is bacteria, which first appeared
on Earth more than 3.6 billion
years ago.
D S O F T I M E S LONGER THAN BACTERIA.
N
A
S
U
O There are many
H
Smaller than rice T bacteria on a grain
of rice and in the

E
Just how small are these R air around it.
A

E
creatures? Zoom in three C
I
R
thousand times on a single F
O

grain of rice and you might S
N
I
A
start to see lots of little R
G
bacteria. Viruses, another
type of microbe, are
smaller still!
One grain of rice A CTUAL SIZE
is about 0.25 in
(6 mm) long.
The biggest bacteria
are still tiny, at about
0.03 in (0.75 mm), the
size of this blue dot.
6
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10 100
B A C T E R I A ARE TO TIMES LONGER T Iaf myoicur owbeer.e..
H
A
N
VI
R If you were shrunk down to
U
S
E
S. the size of bacteria, a grain
of rice would seem bigger
than a mountain. That’s how
A bacteriophage small microbes are. Can you
is a virus that
imagine it?
attacks bacteria.
D S O F T I M E S LONGER THAN BACTERIA.
N
A
S
U
O
H
T

E
R
A

E
C
I
R

F
O

S
N
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G
If this mountain
ARE MICROBES REALLY ALIVE? represents a grain
of rice...
Although they are tiny, yes! Scientists don’t agree on
what makes something alive, but all living things seem
...a person
to share certain features, such as the ability to move
A CTUAL SIZE would be
and to grow. Viruses only have some of these features, the size of
however, so some people think they aren’t alive. bacteria...
...and their
ve! Grow! cell phone
o
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would be the
size of a virus.
7
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microbes

Meet the
Say “hello” to the smallest critters on Earth!
Here are six of the most common types of microbe.
These creatures are everywhere you look—
even though you usually can’t see them.
Bacteria
Bacteria are made of just
one cell each, and they are
the simplest cells on the
S
U
planet. There are more G
N
U
bacteria on Earth than F
M
U
any other form of life. S
O
M
E
C
A
R
M
U
R
Bdiafcfetererinat csohmapee ins. SYNC E P H A LA ST
These ones are
rod-shaped.
ACT E R I O P H A GE VIRUS
B
JANNASCHIA BACTERIA
Viruses
This virus
Viruses are the smallest microbes.
is attaching
They are so small, they live inside itself to a
bacteria cell.
the cells of other creatures. Many
scientists say viruses may not even
be alive since they don’t eat or grow.
8
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